A PERSHORE teenager will be rowing the distance of Portsmouth to Normandy in a bid to raise cash for a charity which pays for D-Day veterans to return to the beaches of Northern France on the anniversary of the landings.
Ellis Morris, 13, a student at Pershore High School, will undertake the 126 mile challenge in May in the hope of raising £1,000 for the charity ‘Return to Normandy.’
The money raised by Ellis will enable the charity to continue taking veterans back to Arromanche on June 6 every year for the anniversary of the D-Day landings.
The kind-heartened teenager has already begun his training for the challenge at Pershore Leisure Centre, where he trains three times a week for the row which will take about 18 hours to complete.
However, due to Ellis’ age, his challenge will be broken down into one hour sessions over the course of a week starting on Friday, May 26 and finishing on Saturday, June 3.
Ellis is no stranger to fund-raising challenges. Last year he completed a 20 mile bike ride and raised more than £650 for ‘Return to Normandy.’
Speaking to the Observer, Ellis’ mum, Mandy Morris, explained why her son has decided to take on the rowing challenge.
“Ellis has had a special interest in D Day and the Second World War for some time,” Mandy said.
“He visited Normandy two years ago with his school and after that he found local D Day veterans to share their stories and make the experience more real.
“He has since designed a coin for Return to Normandy which won him a place on a special legacy trip accompanying five veterans and other children to see first hand their experiences back in October last year.
“This trip made Ellis realise all the more that this event must never be forgotten and that’s when he set out to try and raise more money to ensure these trips continue.”
Ellis said: “I have been fortunate enough to go on one of these trips and it is an experience I shall never forget. This is my inspiration to try my hardest to raise as much money as possible.”
Visit www.gofundme.com/row-to-normandy-2017 to donate to Ellis’ fund-raising challenge.
